Oval-shaped grill with hinged lid

ABSTRACT

A grilling device includes an oven section having an outer wall with opposing side portions and an encircling body portion extending therebetween. The body portion has an access opening and the grilling device includes a lid that selectively covers the access opening by means of a handle attached thereto. The grilling device also includes opposing hinge elements connected to opposite sides of the lid and to the side portions of the outer wall, as opposed to the encircling body portion. In particular, the hinge elements are connected to respective rear areas of the side portions. Accordingly, the path of opening the lid has a different shape or curvature and thereby positions the handle substantially lower than if the hinge elements were connected to the body portion adjacent to the access opening. The opposing side portions have a substantially oval shape and the hinge elements have an elongated configuration.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/070,225, filed on Mar. 15, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,213,051, issuedFeb. 26, 2019, entitled “Oval-Shaped Grill with Hinged Lind,” whichclaims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/216,132, entitled “Oval Shaped Grill with Hinged Lid,” filed onSep. 9, 2015. The entire content of each of the aforementioned patentapplications is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to systems, methods, and devices forgrilling and/or smoking food products. In particular, the presentdisclosure relates to grilling devices having an oval shape and rear-and/or side-mounted lid hinges.

BACKGROUND

Grilling and smoking food products typically includes the use of agrilling device having an internal grilling compartment. When the lid isclosed, the grilling device can retain heat and smoke within theinternal grilling compartment to cook and smoke the food product. Recenttrends include grilling devices having a barrel-shaped outer wall with acircular cross-section, a frontal opening in the outer wall, and anupward-opening, rounded lid attached to the top of the outer wall bymeans of opposing hinges.

Unfortunately, the circular cross-section of the barrel-shaped outerwall limits the size of the food products that can be successfullyprepared therein. For instance, a large pork shoulder, turkey, or othertall food products may not fit within the grilling device without beingcut into smaller pieces. In addition, the top connection for the lidforces a user to open the lid in an uncomfortable and dangerous manner.Specifically, a rounded lid opens toward the user before swingingupward. Moreover, the top connection requires the user to over reach andrisk getting burned by the grill or lid.

Accordingly, there are a number of disadvantages in grilling devices andsystems that can be addressed.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Implementations of the present disclosure solve one or more of theforegoing or other problems in the art with improved grilling devices,as well as components and/or sub-components thereof, and systems andmethods incorporating the same. In particular, implementations of thepresent disclosure relate to a grilling device having rear- and/orside-mounted lid hinges and/or an oval shaped configuration. As such,the path of opening the lid has a different shape or curvature andthereby positions the handle of the lid substantially lower than if thehinge elements were connected to the top portion of the grilling deviceadjacent to the access opening.

One or more implementations of the present disclosure can include asubstantially oval-shaped, wood pellet grill having an outer wallpartially bounding an inner cavity. The outer wall can have an openingdisposed therein, and the grilling device can include a lid for coveringthe opening. The lid can be hingedly connected to the outer wall and canbe actuated between an open position and a closed position. Opposinghinges can be rotatably connected to opposing side portions of the outerwall and attached to the lid. The hinges can be attached to the outerwall behind (to the rear of) and/or below (underneath or beneath) theaft of the grill and/or lid.

Accordingly, the hinges may not be connected to the lid and/or the outerwall at an interface between the upper edge of the lid and the upperedge of the outer wall (e.g., in the closed position). The shape, size,and attachment configuration of the hinges can provide an improved pathof opening and/or can dispose the opened lid such that a user can moreeasily actuate the handle without overextending the user's reach and/orcontacting the lid.

Additional features and advantages of exemplary implementations of thepresent disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows,and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned bythe practice of such exemplary implementations. The features andadvantages of such implementations may be realized and obtained by meansof the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in theappended claims. These and other features will become more fullyapparent from the following description and appended claims, or may belearned by the practice of such exemplary implementations as set forthhereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and otheradvantages and features of the present disclosure can be obtained, amore particular description of the implementations briefly describedabove will be rendered by reference to specific implementations thereofwhich are illustrated in the appended drawings. For betterunderstanding, the like elements have been designated by like referencenumbers throughout the various accompanying figures. Understanding thatthese drawings depict only typical implementations of the invention andare not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, theinvention will be described and explained with additional specificityand detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A illustrates a perspective view of a grilling device in a closedconfiguration according to an implementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 1B illustrates an opposing perspective view of the grilling deviceof FIG. 1 in an opened configuration;

FIG. 2 illustrates a detailed view of the grilling device of FIG. 1A;and

FIG. 3 illustrates a side elevation view of the grilling device of FIG.1 in an opened configuration.

FIG. 4 illustrates a detailed sided view of the lid of the grillingdevice of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates a side elevation view of the lid of FIG. 4 inoperation with the grilling device.

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of the grilling device having thelid of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before describing the present disclosure in detail, it is to beunderstood that this disclosure is not limited to the specificparameters of the particularly exemplified systems, apparatus,assemblies, products, devices, kits, methods, and/or processes, whichmay, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that much, if not allof the terminology used herein is only for the purpose of describingparticular embodiments of the present disclosure, and is not necessarilyintended to limit the scope of the disclosure in any particular manner.Thus, while the present disclosure will be described in detail withreference to specific configurations, embodiments, and/orimplementations thereof, the descriptions are illustrative only and arenot to be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed invention.

Various aspects of the present disclosure, including devices, systems,methods, etc., may be illustrated with reference to one or moreexemplary embodiments or implementations. As used herein, the terms“exemplary embodiment” and/or “exemplary implementation” mean “servingas an example, instance, or illustration,” and should not necessarily beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments orimplementations disclosed herein. In addition, reference to an“implementation” of the present disclosure or invention includes aspecific reference to one or more embodiments thereof, and vice versa,and is intended to provide illustrative examples without limiting thescope of the invention, which is indicated by the appended claims ratherthan by the following description.

Furthermore, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientificterms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one ofordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains.While a number of methods, materials, components, etc. similar orequivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice of thepresent disclosure, only certain exemplary methods, materials,components, etc. are described herein.

It will be noted that, as used in this specification and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referentsunless the content clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example,reference to a “column” includes one, two, or more columns. Similarly,reference to a plurality of referents should be interpreted ascomprising a single referent and/or a plurality of referents unless thecontent and/or context clearly dictate otherwise. Thus, reference to“columns” does not necessarily require a plurality of such columns.Instead, it will be appreciated that independent of conjugation; one ormore columns are contemplated herein.

As used throughout this application the words “can” and “may” are usedin a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), ratherthan the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Additionally, the terms“including,” “having,” “involving,” “containing,” “characterized by,” aswell as variants thereof (e.g., “includes,” “has,” “involves,”“contains,” etc.), and similar terms as used herein, including theclaims, shall be inclusive and/or open-ended, shall have the samemeaning as the word “comprising” and variants thereof (e.g., “comprise”and “comprises”), and do not exclude additional, un-recited elements ormethod steps, illustratively.

Various aspects of the present disclosure can be illustrated bydescribing components that are coupled, attached, connected, and/orjoined together. As used herein, the terms “coupled”, “attached”,“connected,” and/or “joined” are used to indicate either a directassociation between two components or, where appropriate, an indirectassociation with one another through intervening or intermediatecomponents. In contrast, when a component is referred to as being“directly coupled”, “directly attached”, “directly connected,” and/or“directly joined” to another component, no intervening elements arepresent or contemplated.

Thus, as used herein, the terms “connection,” “connected,” and the likedo not necessarily imply direct contact between the two or moreelements. In addition, components that are coupled, attached, connected,and/or joined together are not necessarily (reversibly or permanently)secured to one another. For instance, coupling, attaching, connecting,and/or joining can comprise placing, positioning, and/or disposing thecomponents together or otherwise adjacent in some implementations.

As used herein, directional and/or arbitrary terms, such as “top,”“bottom,” “front,” “back,” “forward,” “rear,” “left,” “right,” “up,”“down,” “upper,” “lower,” “inner,” “outer,” “internal,” “external,”“interior,” “exterior,” “anterior,” “posterior,” “proximal,” “distal,”and the like can be used only for convenience and/or solely to indicaterelative directions and/or orientations and may not otherwise beintended to limit the scope of the disclosure, including thespecification, invention, and/or claims. Accordingly, such directionaland/or arbitrary terms are not to be construed as necessarily requiringa specific order or position.

To facilitate understanding, like reference numerals have been used,where possible, to designate like elements common to the figures.Furthermore, alternative configurations of a particular element may eachinclude separate letters appended to the element number. Accordingly, anappended letter can be used to designate an alternative design,structure, function, implementation, and/or embodiment of an element orfeature without an appended letter. Similarly, multiple instances of anelement and or sub-elements of a parent element may each includeseparate letters appended to the element number.

In each case, the element label may be used without an appended letterto generally refer to instances of the element or any one of thealternative elements. Element labels including an appended letter can beused to refer to a specific instance of the element or to distinguish ordraw attention to multiple uses of the element. However, element labelsincluding an appended letter are not meant to be limited to the specificand/or particular embodiment(s) in which they are illustrated. In otherwords, reference to a specific feature in relation to one embodimentshould not be construed as being limited to applications only withinsaid embodiment.

It will also be appreciated that where two or more values, or a range ofvalues (e.g., less than, greater than, at least, and/or up to a certainvalue, and/or between two recited values) is disclosed or recited, anyspecific value or range of values falling within the disclosed values orrange of values is likewise disclosed and contemplated herein. Thus,disclosure of an illustrative measurement or distance less than or equalto about 10 units or between 0 and 10 units includes, illustratively, aspecific disclosure of: (i) a measurement of 9 units, 5 units, 1 units,or any other value between 0 and 10 units, including 0 units and/or 10units; and/or (ii) a measurement between 9 units and 1 units, between 8units and 2 units, between 6 units and 4 units, and/or any other rangeof values between 0 and 10 units.

Various modifications can be made to the illustrated embodiments withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by theclaims. Thus, while various aspects and embodiments have been disclosedherein, other aspects and embodiments are contemplated. It is also notedthat systems, apparatus, assemblies, products, devices, kits, methods,and/or processes, according to certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure may include, incorporate, or otherwise comprise properties,features, components, members, and/or elements described in otherembodiments disclosed and/or described herein. Thus, reference to aspecific feature in relation to one embodiment should not be construedas being limited to applications only within said embodiment. Theheadings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are notmeant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims.

Embodiments described herein include systems, methods, and devices forgrilling. In particular, certain implementations of the presentdisclosure relate to improved grills and grilling devices, as well ascomponents and/or sub-components thereof and/or systems, methods, andapparatus incorporating the same. Some implementations of the presentdisclosure relate to (oval-shaped) grilling devices having rear- and/orside-mounted lid hinges. As such, the path of opening the lid has adifferent shape or curvature and thereby positions the handle of the lidsubstantially lower than if the hinge elements were connected to the topportion of the grilling device adjacent to the access opening.

The grilling devices can comprise a substantially barrel-shaped, woodpellet grill having an outer wall partially bounding an inner cavity.The outer wall can have an opening disposed therein, and the grillingdevice can include a lid for covering the opening. The lid can behingedly connected to the outer wall and can be actuated between an openposition and a closed position. Opposing hinges can be rotatablyconnected to opposing side portions of the outer wall and attached tothe lid. The shape, size, and attachment configuration of the hinges canprovide an improved path of opening and/or can dispose the opened lidsuch that a user can more easily actuate the handle without contactingthe lid.

It will be appreciated that while reference is made to “grills,”“grilling,” “grilling devices,” “grilling systems,” and the like, thepresent disclosure extends to smoking, baking, roasting, braising,barbequing, and other food preparation methods, as well as devices andsystems for warming, cooking, and/or preparing food products in any ofthe above-recited or other manners. Likewise, while reference is made toan “oven section,” “cooking section,” “heating area,” and the like, thepresent disclosure also extends to various spaces suitable for heating,including open grilling surfaces (e.g., exposed to ambient air), closedkilns and ovens, heating spaces that can be selectively opened andclosed, and the like.

Accordingly, the particular features, configurations, designcharacteristics, and/or components (assemblies) described herein can beapplicable to a variety of different fields of use extending beyondcooking or otherwise preparing food products. These different fields ofuse are also contemplated herein. Thus, reference to one or more“grills,” “grilling,” “grilling devices,” “grilling systems,” and thelike, or one or more components thereof, should not be construed asbeing limited only to applications involving food grilling or grillingdevices.

Grills of the present disclosure can be heated using a variety of fuels.For example, the disclosure extends to grills configured to burn propaneand/or natural gas and grills configured to burn solid fuel (e.g.,charcoal, briquettes, wood, etc.). In some embodiments, the grill isconfigured to use wood pellets as fuel. In addition, in someembodiments, grills according to the present disclosure are configuredto be moveable (e.g., by means of wheel(s) or other moving elements).

In other embodiments, grills may be configured as stationary appliancesand/or may be installed in a relatively permanent fashion (e.g., boltedor otherwise fastened to a wall and/or floor, or otherwise installed aspart of a kitchen or cooking area). Furthermore, grills according to thepresent disclosure can be configured for outdoor use in someembodiments. For instance, certain regulations and/or safety concernsmay recommend or require the use of combustion-style grills only inoutdoor, open-air areas, away from structures, vegetation, and/or otherpotentially flammable materials.

In addition, certain embodiments may be described with reference to oneor more metals or metal materials. As used herein, the term “metal”refers to a material that comprises an elemental metal or metal alloy,blend, or combination. Certain embodiments may also refer to heat and/orsmoke distribution and/or circulation. It will be appreciated that suchforms of directing or using heat and/or smoke can include activedistribution and/or circulation or passive distribution and/orcirculation.

It is further to be understood that some of the drawings includedherewith, and which are referenced herein, are diagrammatic, schematic,and other representations of example embodiments, and are not limitingon the present disclosure. Moreover, while various drawings are providedat a scale that is considered functional for some embodiments, thedrawings are not necessarily drawn to scale for all contemplatedembodiments. No inference should therefore be drawn from the drawings asto the necessity of any scale. Rather, the proportionality, scale, size,shape, form, function, and/or other features of the disclosedembodiments can be altered without necessarily departing from the scopeof this disclosure (unless such feature is expressly described herein asessential).

Furthermore, as indicated above, in the exemplary embodimentsillustrated in the figures, like structures will be provided withsimilar reference designations, where possible. Specific language willbe used herein to describe the exemplary embodiments. Nevertheless itwill be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure isthereby intended. Rather, it is to be understood that the language usedto describe the exemplary embodiments is illustrative only and is not tobe construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure (unless suchlanguage is expressly described herein as essential).

Alterations and further modifications of the inventive featuresillustrated herein, and additional applications of the principlesillustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant artand having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered withinthe scope of this disclosure. Unless a feature is described as requiringanother feature in combination therewith, any feature herein may becombined with another feature of a same or different embodimentdisclosed herein. Furthermore, various well-known aspects ofillustrative systems, methods, apparatus, and the like are not describedherein in particular detail in order to avoid obscuring aspects of theexample embodiments.

Reference will now be made to the figures to describe various aspects ofexample embodiments of the disclosure. FIGS. 1A and 1B depict a grillingdevice 100 in a closed configuration (FIG. 1A) and in an openconfiguration (FIG. 1B). Grilling device 100 has an oven section 102 andan optional support structure 104 (e.g., supporting oven section 102above the ground). As mentioned above, the support structure 104 mayinclude wheeled legs for moving the grilling device 100.

Grilling device 100 can also have a hopper 106 for delivering fuel(e.g., wood pellets) into oven section 102 and/or one or more utilityshelves 108. Oven section 102 can have an outer wall 110 at leastpartially bounding an internal grilling compartment 103. The ovensection 102 can also have an access opening 112 disposed in the outerwall 110. Oven section 102 can also have a lid 120 that selectivelycovers access opening 112 and/or that is selectively actuatable betweena closed position (FIG. 1A) and an open position (FIG. 1B).

Outer wall 110 (“barrel” or “grill body”) can have opposing sideportions (e.g., side wall panels, or “side walls”) 111 and a grill body113 extending between opposing side portions 111. Upon lifting lid 120(FIG. 1B), a user can access internal grilling compartment 103 viaaccess opening 112. FIG. 1B further shows that access opening 112 canhave a perimeter comprising an upper edge 114, a lower edge 116, andopposing side edges 118 that line the opposing side walls 111. Lid 120can similarly have a perimeter comprising an upper edge 128, a loweredge 130, and opposing side edges 132, each of which can align withcorresponding side edges 118 of the access opening 112 when lid 120 isin the closed position. Thus, lid 120 can entirely cover access opening112 and/or can be sized to correspond to the size thereof.

Lid 120 can also have a (curved) upper panel 122 and an optional(linear) lower panel 124. An optional seam 126 can extend between upperpanel 122 and lower panel 124 (e.g., between opposing side edges 132).In at least one embodiment, seam 126 can provide a hinged connectionbetween upper panel 122 and lower panel 124 such that in the openconfiguration, lower panel 124 extends downward from upper panel 122. Inparticular, the hinged connection can provide and/or ensure that lowerpanel 124 extends from upper panel 122 at seam 126 in a substantiallystraight and/or linear direction (e.g., at approximately 180 degrees)when lid 120 is in the closed configuration. However, in the openedconfiguration, lower panel 124 can extend from upper panel 122 at seam126 at an angle (e.g., less than 180 degrees).

Oven section 102 (outer wall 110, therefore, comprising opposing sideportions 111, grill body 113 and/or lid 120) can have a substantiallyoval-shaped configuration. For instance, as illustrated in FIGS. 1A and1B, oven section 102 can have a pill or an oval cross-sectional shape(e.g., with a curved top, an opposing curved bottom, and opposingstraight and/or linear side edges extending between the curved top andbottom). Accordingly, unlike existing barrel-shaped grills having around, circular cross-sectional shape from a side view, the ovular shapeof oven section 102 provides a substantially taller internal grillingcompartment 103 and access opening 112, and thus provides a substantialhigher amount of additional height for a food product to be placedtherein.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1B, the grilling device 100 mayaccommodate multiple grilling racks at a variety of different heightlevels. The pill or oval cross-sectional shape with a curved top andopposing curved bottom allows for greater internal height and,correspondingly, more internal space for grilling racks. Indeed, theoval-shaped configuration may allow for many different types of food tobe placed on the highest internal rack, and still have sufficient spacebetween the rack and the grill's lid 120. The oval shape, in combinationwith the placement of the hinge elements 140 behind the peak 164 of thegrilling device 100, provides a greater amount of space on each grillingrack, and especially on the uppermost grilling rack, as will beexplained further below.

FIGS. 1A and 1B further show that the grilling device 100 can have anopening mechanism such as a lid in order to access the internal grillingcompartment 103. The lid opening mechanism can comprise a handle 138and/or opposing hinge elements 140 attached to lid 120. Hinge elements140 can each be attached to opposing sides of lid 120 and to one of theopposing side portions 111 of outer wall 110, as opposed to grill body113. For instance, hinge element 140 can be attached to the grill viaside portion 111 at a first interface 142 and attached to lid 120 at asecond interface 144.

Accordingly, opposing hinge elements 140 can be attached, respectively,to opposing side portions 111 of outer wall 110 at first interface 142.In addition, hinge element 140 can be attached to side portion 111 ofouter wall 110 at a position below the top, upper end, aft, crest, orpeak of grilling device 100, oven section 102, outer wall 110, lid 120,etc. Thus, first interface 142 can be below the top, upper end, aft,crest, or peak 164 of grilling device 100, oven section 102, outer wall110, lid 120, etc.

In contrast, existing grills often include one or more hinges attachedat the top of the grill between the lid and body thereof. For instance,the one or more hinges are often attached to the adjacent upper edges ofthe body and lid such that the lid opens about the respective upperedges.

As depicted in FIG. 2, hinge element 140 can comprise an elongated hingebody 146 and can include an attachment bracket 150 extending from hingebody 146. Hinge body 146 can have a (substantially straight and/orlinear) lower edge 154 and a (curved) upper edge 148. A first, rear endof hinge body 146 can be rotatably attached to (an upper area of) sideportion 111 at first interface 142 by means of a first fastener 152.First fastener 152 can comprise a shoulder bolt in some embodiments. Asecond, front end of hinge body 146 can be (non-rotationally) attachedto lid 120 by means of one or more additional fasteners 152. Forinstance, attachment bracket 150 of hinge body 146 can be(non-rotationally) attached to side edge 132 of lid 120. Accordingly,hinge body 146 can rotate about first interface 142 (but not aboutsecond interface 144).

FIG. 2 further shows that attachment bracket 150 can be contoured to theshape of lid 120 and/or upper panel 122 thereof (see also FIGS. 1A and1B). Furthermore, upper edge 148 can be contoured to the (rounded) shapeof the upper (curved) edge of side portion 111 of outer wall 110. Asfurther depicted in FIG. 2, upper edge 128 of lid 120 and upper edge 114of and/or access opening 112 can be adjacent to one another in theclosed configuration.

However, as depicted in FIG. 3, upper edge 128 of lid 120 can beseparated from upper edge 114 by a substantial distance in the openedconfiguration. Indeed, upper edge 128 of lid 120 can be disposedsubstantially behind and/or rearward of upper edge 114 in the openedconfiguration. FIG. 3 further depicts a starting point 202 in the closedposition, a path or curvature of opening 200, and an ending point 204 aand/or opened position of handle 138. Because hinge elements 140 areconnected to side portions 111, lid 120 and/or handle 138 has a uniquepath or curvature of opening 200 and/or ending point 204 a.

For instance, existing grills often connect the back of the lid to anupper portion of the grill body adjacent to the grill opening such thatthe lid is attached to the body at an interface 142 a (shown indotted-line). In such a configuration, the lid and/or handle may have asimilar starting point. However, as illustrated in FIG. 3, such aconfiguration directs the lid and/or handle through a sub-optimal pathor curvature of opening 200 a and/or to sub-optimal ending point 204. Itis noted that at interface 142 a, path 200 a extends forward, toward auser's typical location in front of grilling device 100.

Accordingly, the user may need to back up as the lid is opened. Inaddition, ending point 204 is substantially higher and/or elevatedcompared to ending point 204 a. Accordingly, a user would need to reachfurther in order to grab the handle with interface 142 a and, thereby,risk being burned by contacting lower edge 130 (e.g., with the wrist asthe user grasps the handle).

In additional embodiments of the present disclosure, lower panel 124 oflid 120 can pivot (downward) at seam 126 relative to upper panel 122(e.g., when lid 120 is in the opened configuration) such that handle 138and/or ending point 204 a is even closer to starting point 202.

In certain embodiments, the path or curvature of opening 200 can be atleast partially determined by the length of hinge element 140 and/orlower edge 154 thereof, the position of first interface 142, thedistance between first interface 142 (or fastener 152 connecting hingeelement 140 to side portion 111) and a distal fastener 152 (e.g., 152 a,FIG. 5) connecting attachment bracket 150 of hinge element 140 to lid120 at second interface 144, and/or one or more additional factors.

In one specific embodiment, a grilling device 100 is provided thatincludes the following: an oven section 102 having an outer wall 110including opposing side walls 111, where each side wall has a curvedupper portion. The grilling device 100 also includes a lid 120 movablyconnected to each of the opposing side walls 111 of the outer wall 110.This moveable connection allows actuation of the lid 120 to provideaccess to the oven section 102 of the grilling device 100. The moveableconnection may include hinge element 140, or some other type of moveablefastener.

For instance, the moveable connection may include a shoulder bolt whichis attached to the side portion 111 of the outer wall 110. In suchcases, the shoulder bolt would fasten the lid 120 to the outer wall 110of the grilling device, while allowing movement of the lid with respectto the body of the grilling device. It will be understood, of course,that substantially any type of fastener may be used to rotatably attachthe lid 120 to the grill body 113.

Continuing this example, the grilling device 100 may thus include ahinge element 140 attached to the lid and to the opposing side walls 111of the outer wall 110. The hinge element 140 may be of substantially anydesign, including that shown in FIG. 2. The hinge element 140 may becurved along the upper edge 148, while having an elongated hinge body146. The lower edge 154 may be substantially straight, and may runparallel to the top edge of the hopper 106 when viewed from the side (asgenerally shown in FIG. 3). The hinge element 140 may include one ormore fasteners 152 that fasten the attachment bracket 150 of the hingeto the front end of the hinge (four are shown in FIGS. 1A-6, although itwill be understood that substantially any number of fasteners may beused).

The hinge element 140 may be affixed to the curved upper portion of eachof the opposing side walls 111 below the peak 164 (FIG. 4). Forinstance, as shown in FIGS. 1B and 4, the upper portion of the opposingside portions 111 may have an apex or peak 164. In some cases, this apexor peak 164 is defined by the upper edge 114. This apex or peak 164 maybe positioned in the top center of the opposing side portions 111, ormay appear fore or aft of the center of the opposing side portions 111.

The lid 120 of the grilling device may attach at the first interface142, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The first interface 142 may bepositioned below the top, upper end, aft, crest, or peak 164 of thegrilling device 100, of the oven section 102, of the outer wall 110, orof the lid 120. As shown in FIG. 3, the first interface 142 ispositioned below the top of the outer wall 110, and behind the crest orpeak 164 of the opposing side portions 111. The lid 120 may thus berotatably attached to a position that is behind the peak 164 of theopposing side portions 111. This position may also be described inrelation to the side edge of the grilling device 100. Indeed, as shownin FIGS. 1B and 3, the first interface 142 appears on a rearward portionof side edge 118 of the grill body 113. This positioning of the firstinterface 142 causes the lid to follow a specified arc when beingopened.

Indeed, as shown in FIG. 3, path 200 a shows the opening arc of aconventional, round-barreled grill. As can be seen, the arc is initiallydirected toward the grill user, and then substantially upward and awayfrom the user. Because of this arc, the lid 120 of a round-barreledgrill may end at a position that is substantially farther away from theuser (e.g., ending point 204 a) and, as such, may cause the user to burntheir arm on the grill lid. In contrast thereto, the specified openingarc of the grilling device 100 (arc 200) is directed only slightly (ifat all) toward the user initially, while following to an ending positionthat is substantially lower than that of a barrel-shaped grill (e.g.,ending point 204). This lower positioning may prevent the grill userfrom burning their arm or hand on the grill lid 120.

In another embodiment generally illustrated in FIG. 4, a lid 120 may beprovided and implemented in conjunction with grilling device 100. Thisgrilling device 100 may include an oven section 102, an outer wall 110and two opposing side walls 111 that have a substantially oval-shapedconfiguration. The lid of FIG. 4, which is configured for operation onsuch an oval-shaped grill, includes an upper panel 122 and a lower panel124 separated by a seam 126. The upper panel 122 may be curved to followthe curve of the oval-shaped grill, while the lower panel may besubstantially linear. The lower panel 124 of the lid 120 may have ahandle 138 fixedly mounted thereto. As shown in FIG. 4, the upper panel122 of the lid 120 may be hingedly attached to the lower panel 124 ofthe lid 120.

FIG. 4 shows that hinge 160 (or a plurality of hinges) may be placed atthe seam 126, such that the hinges fasten to both the upper panel 122and the lower panel 124 of the lid 120. The hinge 160 may allow thelower panel 124 to swing down to a substantially perpendicular positionrelative to the upper panel 122 of the lid 120. In some embodiments, thehinges may prevent movement beyond a specified position (e.g., 90degrees) or may allow the lower panel 124 to swing back until contact ismade with the underside of the grill lid 120. Thus, in embodiments wherethe lower panel 124 of the lid 120 is hingedly attached to the upperpanel 122 of the lid, the lower panel 124 may extend downward from theupper panel 122 of the lid 120.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the grilling device 100 is in an openconfiguration in which the lid 120 is open, the lower panel 124 extendsdownward from the upper panel at an angle that may be more or less than90 degrees relative to the upper panel 122. In such a configuration, itcan be seen from opening arc 200 b that the path of the handle 138 maybe altered from that of the barrel-shaped grill (200) and from that ofthe grilling device 100 (200 a) where the lower panel 124 is fixedlyattached to the upper panel 122 (as shown in FIGS. 1A-3).

Indeed, the opening arc 200 b for lid 120 in the embodiment shown inFIG. 5, where the lower panel 124 is hingedly attached to the upperpanel 122, extends little if at all toward the grill user during initialoperation, and ends at an ending point 204 b that is substantially lowerthan ending points 204 or 204 a. Thus, a hinged connection between upperpanel 122 and lower panel 124 of lid 120 may allow an ending point 204 bthat is substantially closer to starting point 202, and may thus provideeasier operation for the grill user.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, where the lower panel 124 is hingedlyattached to the upper panel 122 of the lid 120, when the lid is in aclosed configuration in which the lid of the grilling device 100 isclosed, the lower panel 124 extends downward from the upper panel 122 ina substantially linear direction. The hinge 160 may be a single hingethat runs substantially the length of the seam 126. Alternatively,multiple hinges 160 may be placed along the seam 126, such as having ahinge on each end of the seam, or having a third hinge in between thetwo end hinges.

Accordingly, in the closed configuration, the seam 126 is closed as theupper edge of the lower panel 124 abuts the lower edge of the upperpanel 122. The hinge or hinges 160 used in such an embodiment may extendthe length of the seam 126, or may appear at specified spots along theseam (e.g., one hinge on the right side of the seam, and another hingeon the left side of the seam. The hinge or hinges 160 may fasten to thegrilling device 100 using any of a variety of fastening means includingscrews, nuts and bolts, welds or other fastening means.

In another embodiment, a grilling device 100 is provided which includesan oven section 102 having an outer wall 110 that at least partiallybounds an internal grilling compartment 103. The outer wall has opposingfirst and second side portions 111 and an encircling grill body 113extending therebetween. The body portion 113 has an access opening 112,a lid 120 attached to the outer wall 110 that is actuatable between aclosed position (e.g., as generally shown in FIG. 1A) in which the lid120 covers the access opening 112, and an open position in which theaccess opening 112 is uncovered (as generally shown in FIG. 1B).

As previously discussed relevant to FIGS. 1A-5, the grilling device 100can also include a handle 138 attached to the lid 120, and opposinghinge elements 140 connected to the lid 120 and to the outer wall. Thehinge elements 140 include a first hinge element connected to the lid120 and to the first side portion 111 and a second hinge elementconnected to the lid 120 and to the second side portion. The hingeelements 140 may include an elongated hinge body 146 with a curved upperedge 148. The curved upper edge 148 of the elongated hinge body 146 maybe contoured to the curved shape of a peak 164 in the upper portion ofthe oval-shaped side wall 111.

In some cases, each of the opposing side portions 111 has asubstantially oval shape with an upper curved edge portion 163, anopposing lower curved edge 162, and opposing linear side edges 161extending between the upper and lower curved edges. The hinge elementsthat are affixed to each side of the lid 120 may include an elongatedhinge body 146 extending longitudinally from a front part of the sideportion 111 of the outer wall 110 to an opposing rear part of the sideportion. The front end of the hinge element 140 may be connected to thelid 120 adjacent to the front part of the side portion 111, and a rearend of the hinge element 140 may be connected to the side portion 111 atan interface 142 at the rear part of the side portion 111. The same mayalso be true for the hinge element 140 disposed on the opposing side ofthe outer wall 110.

The interface 142 at which the lid 120 attaches to the outer wall 110 ofthe grilling device may include a pivot point about which the hingeelement 140 is rotatably attached. The opposing side of the grillingdevice may include another interface that also includes a pivot pointabout which the hinge element 140 on the opposing side is rotatablyattached. These two pivot points may be substantially aligned to allowfor smooth operation of the lid 120. The access opening 112 of thegrilling device 100 may include a rear edge, where the opposing hingeelements 140 are connected to the outer wall 110 substantially rearwardof the side edge 118 of the grill body 113.

In another embodiment, a grilling apparatus is described which includesa support structure 104 with multiple supporting legs, and an ovensection 102 having an outer wall 110 with opposing side walls 111. Eachside wall has a peak 164 in an upper portion thereof 163. The ovensection 102, the outer wall 110 and the opposing side walls 111 may havea substantially oval-shaped configuration, as shown in FIG. 1A. Thegrilling apparatus may also have a lid 120 movably connected to each ofthe opposing side walls 111 of the outer wall 110. This moveableconnection at interface 142 facilitates actuation of the lid to, inturn, provide access to the oven section 102 of the grilling device.

Still further, the grilling apparatus includes multiple opposing hingeelements 140 attached to the lid 120 and to the opposing side walls 111of the outer wall 110. The hinge elements 140 are affixed to the upperportion 163 of each of the opposing side walls 111 below the peak 164,and are further affixed to a rearward portion of a side edge 132 of thelid 120. As such, actuation of the lid follows a specified arc, asgenerally shown in FIG. 3.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, the lid 120 of the grillingdevice 100 includes an upper panel 122 and a lower panel 124 connectedvia one or more hinges 160 at the seam 126. In the open configurationshown in FIG. 6, in which the lid 120 of the grilling device 100 isopen, the hingedly attached lower panel 124 extends downward from theupper panel 122 at an angle that is less than 90 degrees relative to theupper panel 122. The lower panel 124 may hand down so as to allow easieraccess to the handle of the grill. The hingedly attached lower panel 124also follows a different opening arc, such that when the lid 120 isopened by a user, the lid follows an arc that flows substantially awayfrom the user, and ends at an ending point 204 b that is substantiallycloser to the starting point 202.

The lid 120 of the grilling apparatus may attach to each opposing sidewall 111 at an interface located substantially rearward of the peaks 164of the upper portions 163 of the opposing side walls 111. Each interfaceto which the lid 120 is attached may include a fastening means thatallows for rotational movement of the lid 120 vis-a-vis the outer wall110. The lid 120 provides access to an access opening 112 that has arear edge defined by the outer wall 110. The opposing hinge elements 140are connected to the outer wall 110 substantially rearward of the sideedge 118 of the grill. As illustrated in FIG. 6, which shows aperspective view of the configuration shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, theopposing hinge elements allow the lid 120 to follow a specificallydesigned opening arc that places the user's hands and armsadvantageously away from the edge of the lid to prevent burns to theuser.

The foregoing detailed description makes reference to specific exemplaryembodiments. However, it will be appreciated that various modificationsand changes can be made without departing from the scope contemplatedherein and as set forth in the appended claims. In particular, whileillustrative exemplary embodiments in this disclosure have been moreparticularly described, the present disclosure is not limited to theseembodiments, but includes any and all embodiments having modifications,omissions, combinations (e.g., of aspects across various embodiments),adaptations and/or alterations as would be appreciated by those in theart based on the foregoing detailed description. The limitations in theclaims are to be interpreted broadly based on the language employed inthe claims and not limited to examples described in the foregoingdetailed description, which examples are to be construed asnon-exclusive.

Moreover, any steps recited in any method or process described hereinand/or recited in the claims may be executed in any order and are notnecessarily limited to the order presented in the claims, unlessotherwise stated (explicitly or implicitly) in the claims. Accordingly,the scope of the invention should be determined solely by the appendedclaims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the descriptions andexamples given above. It will also be appreciated that various features,members, elements, parts, and/or portions of certain embodiments of thepresent invention are compatible with and/or can be combined with,included in, and/or incorporated into other embodiments of the presentinvention.

Thus, disclosure of certain features, members, elements, parts, and/orportions relative to a specific embodiment of the present inventionshould not be construed as limiting application or inclusion of saidfeatures, members, elements, parts, and/or portions to the specificembodiment. Rather, it will be appreciated that other embodiments canalso include said features, members, elements, parts, and/or portionswithout necessarily departing from the scope of the present invention.Likewise, certain embodiments can include fewer features than thosedisclosed in specific examples without necessarily departing from thescope of this disclosure.

In addition, the present invention may be embodied in other specificforms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics.The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only asillustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is,therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription. All changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

We claim:
 1. A grilling device, comprising: an oven section havingopposing side walls having a pill cross-sectional shape, wherein eachside wall comprises a curved upper portion and a curved lower portionseparated by opposing linear side edges at a front and rear portion ofeach side wall; a lid comprising a curved upper portion and asubstantially linear portion extending downward from the curved upperportion, wherein the curved upper portion and substantially linearportion of the lid correspond in shape to an outline of the opposingside walls; and a first hinge element affixed to the lid on one side ofthe lid, and a second hinge element affixed on an opposing side of thelid, wherein each of the first and second hinge elements is shaped tocorrespond with the curved upper portion of the lid; wherein each firstand second hinge element includes an elongated hinge body with a curvedupper edge and a planar lower edge.
 2. The grilling device of claim 1,wherein the lid comprises an upper panel and a lower panel separated bya seam.
 3. The grilling device of claim 2, further comprising a handlefixedly mounted to the lower panel of the lid.
 4. The grilling device ofclaim 3, wherein the upper panel of the lid is hingedly attached to thelower panel of the lid.
 5. The grilling device of claim 4, wherein, inan open configuration in which the lid of the grilling device is open,the lower panel extends downward from the upper panel at an angle. 6.The grilling device of claim 5, wherein, in a closed configuration inwhich the lid of the grilling device is closed, the lower panel extendsdownward from the upper panel in a substantially linear direction. 7.The grilling device of claim 1, wherein the curved upper edge of theelongated hinge body is contoured to a curved shape of a peak in thecurved upper portion of each side wall.
 8. The grilling device of claim1, wherein each hinge element connects: (i) below a peak of the curvedupper portion; and (ii) above the substantially linear portions of eachof the corresponding side walls.
 9. A grilling device, comprising: anoven section having opposing side walls having a pill cross-sectionalshape, wherein each side wall comprises a curved upper portion having apeak, and a curved lower portion separated from the curved upper portionby opposing linear side edges at a front and rear portion of each sidewall; wherein the oven section further comprises an upper edge extendingfrom the curved upper portion of one opposing side wall to the curvedupper portion of the opposing side wall; a lid comprising a curved upperportion having an upper edge that mates with the upper edge of the ovensection when the lid is in a closed position; and a first hinge elementaffixed to the lid on one side of the lid, and a second hinge elementaffixed on an opposing side of the lid; wherein each of the first andsecond hinge elements attaches the lid to the oven section such that, inan open position, the upper edge of the lid is positioned at a pointalong the curved upper portion of each opposing side wall that isrearward of the peak.
 10. The grilling device of claim 9, furthercomprising: a handle attached to the lid; wherein each of the first andsecond hinge elements is connected to the lid at a position that is: (i)below the peak of the curved upper portion of the corresponding sidewall; and (ii) above the linear side edges thereof.
 11. The grillingdevice of claim 9, wherein the first hinge element comprises: anelongated body extending longitudinally from a front part of a firstside wall of the opposing side walls to an opposing rear part of thefirst side wall when the lid is in a closed position; a front end of thefirst hinge element being connected to the lid adjacent to the frontpart of the first side wall; and a rear end of the first hinge elementbeing connected to the first side wall at a first interface at theopposing rear part of the first side wall.
 12. The grilling device ofclaim 11, wherein the second hinge element comprises: an elongated bodyextending longitudinally from a front part of a second side wall to anopposing rear part of the second side wall when the lid is in a closedposition; a front end of the second hinge element being connected to thelid adjacent to the front part of the second side wall; and a rear endof the second hinge element being connected to the second side wall at asecond interface at the rear part of the second side wall.
 13. Thegrilling device of claim 9, wherein each of the first and second hingeelements is respectively connected to one of the opposing side wallssubstantially rearward of an upper edge of an access opening.
 14. Agrilling device, comprising: a support structure comprising a pluralityof legs; an oven section having an outer wall including opposing sidewalls, each side wall having a curved upper portion with a peak, andhaving a substantially vertical lower portion, wherein the oven section,the outer wall and the opposing side walls provide a pill shaped crosssection; a lid movably connected to each of the opposing side walls ofthe outer wall by a moveable connection, wherein the moveable connectionallows actuation of the lid to provide access to the oven section of thegrilling device; and at least two opposing hinge elements attached tothe lid and to the opposing side walls of the outer wall; wherein the atleast two opposing hinge elements are (i) respectively affixed to thecurved upper portion of each of the opposing side walls below the peakof the curved upper portion, but above the substantially vertical lowerportion, and (ii) further affixed to a rearward portion of a side edgeof the lid; wherein the at least two opposing hinge elements attach thelid to the oven section such that actuation of the lid follows aspecified arc that positions an upper edge of the lid rearward of thepeak.
 15. The grilling device of claim 14, wherein the lid comprises anupper panel and a lower panel connected via one or more hinges.
 16. Thegrilling device of claim 15, wherein in an open configuration in whichthe lid of the grilling device is open, the hingedly attached lowerpanel extends downward from the upper panel at an angle that is lessthan 90 degrees relative to the upper panel.
 17. The grilling device ofclaim 14, wherein the lid attaches to each opposing side wall of thegrilling device at an interface located substantially rearward of thepeaks of the upper portions of the opposing side walls.
 18. The grillingdevice of claim 17, wherein each interface to which the lid is attachedcomprises a fastening means that allows for rotational movement of thelid via the outer wall.
 19. The grilling device of claim 17, wherein:the lid provides access to an access opening having a rear edge; and theat least two opposing hinge elements are connected to the outer wallsubstantially rearward of a side edge of the access opening.